Wasted opportunity: Recycling not an option in much of rural Miss.

12:02 AM,
Oct. 19, 2013

A bulldozer moves piles of trash at the Little Dixie Landfill in Madison County on Monday.

Written by

Brian Eason
beason@jackson.gannett.com

Despite nationwide campaigns to raise environmental awareness, access to recycling is still elusive for around half of Mississippi residents, a statistic driven by a lack of recycling programs in the state's rural areas.

"It is difficult for a rural state," says Mark Williams, an administrator for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. "And I tell people we have to work harder to be successful."

The barriers are many. Recyclables are sold in huge bundles, usually across state lines, so volume is the key to making any money. But volume is exactly what tiny rural communities ...